Winners of Outreach Marine Day Competition 2017 Announced

Since January 2017, the uShaka Sea World Education Outreach team has been sharing the marine conservation message with 12 schools within the eThekwini municipality and eight in the Ladysmith and Estcourt regions. During October 2017, 16 of these schools participated in the annual uShaka Sea World Outreach Marine Day Competition.

Congratulations to the winning schools:

First place in the poetry category went to Phumelelani Primary School

Gabangemfundo Primary School took first place in the display category

Mariannhill Primary School took first prize in the drama category

Well done to all who took part in the competition. We salute all participants and their teachers who taught us so much. Sadly, as with all competitions, there can only be a few winners.

Thanks to the funding support by the National Lotteries Commission, 210 learners and 64 teachers and guests enjoyed the judging day.

Each year, Grade 6 learners who have participated in the various Outreach Programme activities throughout the year compete for one of the coveted uShaka Sea World trophies. In the past year, uShaka Sea World Education staff gave interactive marine-based lessons, both at uShaka Sea World and at the schools, to the Grade 6 learners at the 20 schools. The aim was to inspire them to learn more about the creatures that inhabit the ocean and the impact that litter has on them.

The theme this year was “litter belongs in the bin” and focused on rubbish in the environment, how it affects animals and our community, and how we can make a difference. The competition offered a platform for learners to compose and perform poems and plays based on the lessons they were taught by the Outreach team during the year.

The standard of the competition is always high and this year was no exception. The displays reflected an enormous amount of work by the learners and their teachers. All the displays told environmental stories – either showing problems, such as factories polluting the air, children littering, cars emitting gases and rivers running dry, or focusing on the positive side, for example by highlighting recycling projects within their communities.

We hope the learners and their teachers enjoyed preparing for the competition as much as the SAAMBR team enjoyed watching their amazing and inspiring presentations. At times they made us laugh and at times their environmental messages were so powerful that they left us emotional.